Lister-Petter, Vw Sign Engine Deal

Lister-Petter now importer for U.S. and Canada; agreement adds first gasoline engines to LPI line; third engine alliance in five years

Concluding its third engine alliance in five years, Lister-Petter Inc. (LPI), Olathe, Kan., is now the importer for Volkswagen industrial engines in the U.S. and Canada.

The addition of the Volkswagen line, which was formerly handled by Volkswagen of America's industrial engine group in Lincolnshire, Ill., brings a range of water-cooled diesel and spark-ignited engines from 20 to 110 hp at speeds from 800 to 4000 rpm into the LPI product portfolio. The alliance officially began on Oct. 1, and the VW range is being announced to LPI's distributor network in a series of regional meetings over the final months of 1999. LPI is the Western Hemisphere subsidiary of Lister-Petter Ltd., Dursley, England.

In addition to its own line of diesel engines, Lister-Petter is also the North American distributor for Fiat's Iveco Aifo diesel engine line, a deal that was signed in 1994. In 1996, Lister-Petter Ltd., signed a 10-year license agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for production and distribution of Mitsubishi's S4S diesel, which is being sold worldwide by Lister-Petter under the Delta brand name. The alliance with Volkswagen wraps up a busy year for Lister-Petter, which also introduced two new engines to its existing line, the X86 and X90 diesels, (see August 1999, Diesel Progress), which are due to begin production in the first quarter of 2000.

Volkswagen's agreement with LPI effectively ends VW's direct involvement with industrial engines in North America. Noting that Volkswagen AG has undertaken and is considering similar types of independent engine arrangements in other world markets, VW's Dieter Junginger, manager industrial sales, said that with Volkswagen focusing on its core vehicular business, the decision was made to align with Lister-Petter.

"We see this as an opportunity to add additional sales for Volkswagen engines and to be associated with a company that specializes in industrial engines in North America. Both companies share similar cultural and marketing philosophies, which along with LPI's expertise and infrastructure, as well as its success with other alliances, should take us to the next level of market penetration," Junginger said.

Volkswagen AG began selling engines from its famous Beetle car for industrial use in 1952. The company began selling automotive derivative engines for industrial use in North America in 1967, with a Melroe-built agricultural sprayer being the first application. In 1976, high-speed diesel engines were introduced in VW cars, which were made available for industrial applications three years later. In 1998, the Volkswagen group built 1.55 million diesel engines, making it one of the world's largest diesel engine producers.

On the LPI side, the Volkswagen range adds a line of compact, lightweight engines to the line, as well as the first gasoline models to be offered by the company. Sales will be through LPI's established OEM direct and distributor programs. LPI has also assumed all service and parts responsibility for VW industrial engines in the U.S. and Canada.

"Besides adding gasoline industrial engines to our product mix, the addition of the Volkswagen engines allows us to compete much more strongly in those off-highway markets where power-to-weight ratio is critical," said Phil Cantrill, president of LPI. "Plus we can get into applications needing higher speeds than the 2500 rpm we had previously been able to offer."

Before the agreement with LPL, VW had sold engines into fire pumps, ice resurfacers, military vehicles and liquefied gas transport applications in North America, as well as power units, and into forklifts and generator sets in Europe. The Volkswagen engines will also be incorporated into LPI's Hawkpower gen-set program in 10, 15 and 20 kW diesel and gaseous-fueled sets.

The Volkswagen line now sold by Lister-Petter revolves around a 1.9 L diesel, and 1.8 L and 1.0 L gasoline engines. All are four-cylinder engines with the diesels available in naturally aspirated, turbocharged and TDI configurations.

The 1.0 L EA-111 gasoline engine is rated 50 hp at 5000 rpm, while the ADF gasoline engine is a 1.8 L model rated 67 hp at 4000 rpm. On the diesel side the naturally aspirated ADG carries a rating of 58 hp at 4000 rpm, while the ADE turbocharged model is rated 75 hp at 4000 rpm. The TDI model AFD is rated 82 hp at 3300 rpm